Lydon was part of the ruthless RFU cull in April this year, when all the major coaching staff except for head coach, Andy Robinson, were dispensed with and, in recent weeks, has come under attack, both directly and indirectly, from leading England players and some sections of the media.

"A blame culture seems to have set in with some people wishing to rewrite history a little to suit them," Lydon said.

"Everything that went wrong is now, apparently, somebody else's fault — mostly mine, it seems. People are reluctant to own up to their own involvement and responsibility. It's not a healthy way to go forward.

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"Judging from what has been said and written about me, everything can be laid at my door. No doubt if the new south stand at Twickenham isn't completed in time for the Nov 5 game against the All Blacks, that will be my fault as well.

"Of course, I've been stung by the criticism but you have to have a thick skin. And you also have to be honest and say that, as a team, with a record of just 10 wins in our last 18 games, we weren't performing properly.

"There had to be a price to pay, that's sport. The coaching team are ultimately responsible and a lot of us have lost our jobs as a result.

"You have to be grown up as a professional and accept that. Some of those who were shown the door had received OBEs for their excellent contributions in 2003. You don't become a bad coach overnight.

"The blame culture that has set in is counterproductive. Those doing the blaming need to examine their own contributions during a lean period for England. Things went wrong during a difficult time and we ought to accept that collectively.

"It has been frightening to see this week that Andy Farrell is already being judged as a rugby player after less than a month of full-time action. The arguments and recriminations between club and country are already raging. We have to stop this bickering. Just let Andy Farrell get on with it, learn his trade as quickly as possible and we'll see how it all works out in 18 months' time."

Lydon, who coached the England Sevens squad to three consecutive wins in Hong Kong, was invited by Sir Clive Woodward to help with the 2003 World Cup party in Australia but declined, feeling only full-time coaches should accompany the squad.

He did, however, spend six weeks working with the backs at Pennyhill Park before their departure and received a signed shirt as thanks from the players.

He is right to think that some individuals have been trying to airbrush out that part of his CV.

Since the World Cup, however, it has undeniably been a story of steady decline for England, with that success rate of just 56 per cent in the last two seasons telling its own story.

Lydon had his critics but at no time did he have the final say in crass selectorial decisions, or any part in the litany of dropped passes, missed tackles and depressing stream of penalties.

Nor is he responsible for the debilitating and ongoing dispute between club and country, which causes such a congested fixture list and restricts the amount of quality training time available. He appears to have been singled out for no other reason than English rugby's desire for a scapegoat.

"A real focus for England under Clive Woodward was the strict no-blame culture," Lydon continues. "There were strong words from strong personalities when mistakes had been made in Six Nations and World Cup campaigns, but England always put on a collective front.

"They were honest enough to accept that everybody contributed to success and failure. I didn't realise the entire decline of England rugby was down to me. If I had known I was the man ultimately responsible, I would have put in for a major pay rise.

"I accept totally my responsibility in specific areas and my collective responsibility. Everybody should surely do that in any walk of life.

"I believe you can always learn from adversity but I do, however, have to question my judgment of the characters of some individuals who I put a lot of trust in and who I was willing to stand by when things didn't go too well for them."